You never know for sure if your insurance will cover you until you try to use it, as a North Texas farmer learned when his tractor was stolen.
Texas ranks No. 1 for heavy equipment theft, which includes tractors. In this case, the issue was whether the tractor was in the farmer's possession. He says it was, but his insurance company says it wasn't.
Brad LaFavers said he feels like he's on the wrong end of a technicality. He moves bales hay on about 1,800 acres of land in Hunt County. He said his tractor was stolen in Quinlan the night after he came back from a day trip to a town two hours away.
"We moved hay on Monday and then Tuesday, my daughter asked me to go pick up a grain tank in Henderson," he said LaFavers. "So my son and I left with the trailer and went to Henderson and picked up a grain tank, so we didn't move hay that day."
When LaFavers filed a claim for the tractor, his insurance company denied it. Texas Pioneer Farm Mutual Insurance said the tractor was "not in his possession," since he'd been out of town.
"I don't understand exactly how do you put a tractor in your possession," LaFavers told us. "I didn't have anyone else using it. It was on leased land that I had farmed for quite some time and it's not unusual to leave tractors when you're still in the field working."
But Texas Pioneer Farm Mutual Insurance told us in an email:
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"Our policy is designed to cover the most common loss exposures at a the lowest possible cost to protect our member policyholders... Since farm equipment is a target for theft and vandalism when left unattended, we limit the location of farm equipment to the described location. We expanded this to allow coverage at another location when the insured has the equipment with him... We suggest that it is a good idea for a prospective insured to compare coverages as well as rates to make sure he has the correct coverages and to choose the company that best fits his needs."
LaFavers says that doesn't make sense.
"At the end of each season, you bring your tractors home or you store them in barns or what not," he said. "In the middle of the season, when you're working, you don't bring it home at night like you would a briefcase."
"They took my money in good faith and I expect them to pay my money in good faith," LeFavers added.
Lafavers has filed a complaint with the Texas Department of Insurance and he's checking out his legal options. He said, in retrospect, he would have asked a lot more questions before he signed his policy.
That's good advice. Policies can vary depending on the cost and the insurer.
Lafavers now has a new insurer, which is now covering his other tractor.
Here are tips to protect heavy equipment like tractors. Here is a heavy equipment fact sheet from the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
